Sisters aged 12 and 14 crash cars into each other

A 12-year-old driver who could not see over the steering wheel crashed into another car being driven by her 14-year-old sister, according to police in New Zealand.

Photo: Alamy

By Paul Chapman in Wellington

6:35AM GMT 09 Jan 2013

Officers were alerted when a "distraught" woman motorist in the North Island city of Hamilton reported that she was nearly hit by a blue Ford Falcon driven by someone too short to see through the car's windscreen.

A short time later, the powerful Ford collided head-on with a Nissan Bluebird pulling out of a driveway, driven by the girl's worried sister who was setting off to look for her.

Traffic officer Inspector Marcus Lynam said: "It appears the younger girl has taken the Ford car for a drive and, when her older sister became concerned about where she was, the 14-year-old has jumped into the Nissan to go in search of her.

"The two cars have subsequently collided at the entrance to the driveway.

The sisters were taken by ambulance to the city's Waikato Hospital for treatment.

Police are questioning what the girls were doing behind the wheel, and Inspector Lynam said the incident was a warning to parents to re-evaluate their children's access to vehicles.

He said it was too early to say whether charges would be laid.

The minimum age at which anyone can apply for a provisional driving licence in New Zealand is 16, and conditions include supervision by a licensed driver.

"The reason we have graduated driver licences is because young people simply don't have the cognitive skills or ability to react to situations that can arise on our roads at any time," Inspector Lynam said.